


The path home

by Angelicasdean



Series: Walk the path of a sinner, meet the dues of the devil. [3]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Actual A+ Parenting, Difficult Decisions, Father-Son Relationship, High Honor Arthur Morgan, Young Arthur Morgan, how to be responsible 101, parenting is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 20:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20013970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicasdean/pseuds/Angelicasdean
Summary: PART THREE"Revenge is just... A fools game," he recites and Hosea nods, clapping Arthur's shoulder.





	The path home

December 14th, 1890

A cold morning it had been, Isaac had gone around the nearby forest with John to get wood for their fire, Arthur had been hunting since dawn's break as Dutch and Hosea conspire together about a job. Their camp has begun to fill, Dutch, Arthur, John and Hosea seemingly bringing a new person to join whenever they're out to run an errand. Most recently, Dutch had brought in a priest he knew, something about needing a place to stay for a bit and that Dutch owes him for something or other. Arthur didn't mind him, as long as his drunken crusades and Morphin drowned rants stayed a good distance away from Isaac.

Another addition had been a girl, or woman, young and fierce, Abigail Roberts, sixteen years old, she had fallen into a brothel once her family had died. Hosea had found her, offered her a place to stay, she had been wary of all the men, but Isaac had made her warm up easier to them, to Arthur especially.

Arthur returns to camp by noon, greeted by Isaac's hug as he removes the rabbit and deer he had successfully brought down. Isaac had been becoming more lively, recently, his interest in reading had only grown and he was more than happy to explain the various plots of children's books to Arthur before they sleep, a reverse bedtime story in a sense. Arthur was glad, he hadn't noticed how stressful it had been, seeing Isaac lacking his usual bright and tooth-missing smile.

"Grandpa Hosea said I was doing well," Isaac says offhandedly, legs swinging as he sits on Pearson's table, "I wrote something today, but I don't know if I like it," He adds, dropping his head and Arthur bumps his shoulder with his elbow.

"I'm sure it's just fine, why don't you read it out for me, while I help old Pearson here?" Arthur encourages, smiling jokingly up at Pearson who points his knife towards Arthur in good humor.

"I don't know, Pa," Isaac sighs, but takes out a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket, opening it and scanning it before his hands drop to his lap, "Promise you won't make fun of me,"

"Have I ever?" Arthur replies and Isaac shakes his head, pulling in a breath, puffing his chest dramatically as he crosses one foot over the other.

"Okay," Isaac agrees, lifting the paper again before reading out, "I saw a flower today, big blue and bea-uti-ful," he spells out, "beautiful" he repeats, this time smoothly, "I wanted to pick it out, but Grandpa told me that it would hurt me," he reads out, stuffing the paper in his pocket and looking up at him, "I wanted to give it to you, like a gift!" he explains, Arthur plants a hand on Isaac's hair and ruffling it affectionately.

"You don't need to give me a gift!" Arthur says, tone cheery and Isaac smiles and raises a single shoulder, something he had picked up from John.

"You always bring back gifts, so I thought I could too," he explains nonchalantly, and secretly, Arthur's heart warms, "Can I go play now?"

"Sure," Arthur agrees, watching Isaac hop down from the table and run to the edge of the camp, picking up a stick off the ground and throwing it into the woods.

Arthur sighs, turning away Pearson and ignoring the vegetables he had been peeling. 

Dutch called for him just as Arthur starts to head to his tent, he hadn't slept well, Javier had them running around town robbing, that had gone as smooth as the snowy ground under him. But nevertheless, Arthur heads to Dutch, rubbing his hands together as he shares a polite nod with Hosea.

"Need something?" Arthur asks, pulling his coat tighter, sniffing against the smell of blood on his shoulder, least of his worries now.

"Hosea and I wanted you to know... Julien, there's talk of him being around," Dutch says, leaning against his table, Arthur purses his lip, blinking against the information, "I know that you might want to... avenge Eliza, Arthur, but-" Dutch sighs, words failing him as he struggles to convey the message, looking towards Hosea for help"

"But it's not worth it, son," Hosea completes, placing a gentle hand on Arthur's clean shoulder, "Remember what I told you when you was just a kid?"

"I do," Arthur nods, disappointed and angry, but holding it well, balling it and shoving it deep down, "Revenge is just... _A fools game_ ," he recites and Hosea nods, clapping Arthur's shoulder.

"Exactly, now, I know it's tempting, I know you loved her. But risking your life for something unfixable is more than foolish, if anything happens to you... Isaac..." Hosea looks off to the side and Arthur follows his gaze to where Isaac sits beside Cleopatra, her head laying in his lap, dwarfing him as she rests. Arthur would scold Isaac about sitting in the snow, getting his clothes wet but his chest is too tight.

Hosea's right, him and Dutch, always have been in these situations. If Arthur dies, he'll leave Isaac an orphan, and while he trusts that the others will take care of him, he doesn't want his son to grow up losing his parents in such a bloody way, knows he'll fall into their life just as fast as Arthur himself had.

He sighs, turning to Hosea, who's staring at him, eyes warm and filled with fatherly worry, "I understand," he says, nodding to himself. He's still angry, still burning with the need to put the Raven's entire gang six feet under, but for the sake of his son, he won't, won't succumb to anger like his father had, won't turn into a monster set for revenge and angry at the entire world, doomed to a noose.

"Good," Hosea says, stepping back and Dutch nods once Arthur catches his eyes, a quiet dismissal. Arthur steps out, breathing in deep as he trudges through the snow towards Isaac, now brushing Cleopatra's mane.

He won't do anything stupid, for him, for his son, for the person Arthur would take a bullet for then stand up and take another. _For him_.

* * *

December 25th, 1890

The entire town is quiet, except for the Saloon that is. The snow had thickened over the night, now reaching Arthur's knees as he, Javier and Davey try to wade through it silently. "Stop," Arthur whispers, pulling Javier back as he peeks around a corner. Two lawmen stand, alert as they whisper between each other.

"Man, who would even pull a robbery at this weather?" One says as Arthur motions for Javier to take out his knife, Davey hangs back, clutching his bleeding shoulder as they stalk behind the Lawmen.

"Technically this is the best weather for any type of crime," The second replies, "I mean, darkness, hard to run after-" he doesn't get to continue, Arthur grabbing him by the neck and stabbing him as Javier takes his friend down. They drag their corpses into the shadows, picking up what they can off their bodies. Davey hisses, shivering as Arthur passes him a worried look.

"Should let me take a look," Arthur murmurs, not bothering to try as Davey shakes his head, setting his jaw, "bet you'll regret it when you get gangrene, then you'll be brainless as well as armless,"

"Shut it, Morgan," Davey grumbles, pulling his jacket tighter around him against a shiver, "I just wanna go back, I knew I shouldn't have trusted Mac with guarding duty,"

"Eh, can't change it now," Arthur replies back, Voice a whisper as they waddle through the snow and into the alleyway.

The robbery had gone south fast and unexpected, it was supposed to be a normal Bank job, they've already robbed half the town, thankfully unscathed and undetected, blamed on the Raven's and O'driscolls instead of them. This was supposed to be the icing on the cake before they move to the west, to warmer, drier and less secure areas. But it didn't go as planned, the police had shown up, Mac had to flee, only giving them warning shots before escaping imprisonment narrowly. Arthur had watched him struggle with the law officers, unable to help, the two big cash-filled bags in his arms disabling him. John had run with the money in his hands, but the men inside the volt, Javier, Arthur, and Davey, weren't so lucky to escape.

Thankfully, they had come out with only Davey injured, had abandoned two bags filled with gold and a similar two filled with money, though Arthur had stolen some of the bonds and kept them safely tucked in his satchel and pockets.

The shootout was rough, many lawmen falling and some civilians caught in the crossfire. In a moment for genius, Javier had found the stairwell leading to the rooftops, where they escaped, jumping from roof to roof. They holed themselves in a dark alleyway, one that was hard to reach and even harder to see. They waited until the night was thick enough to escape. The cold was almost too much, they had no supplies to help Davey, his arm was left to bleed freely until they find their way back.

Their horses most definitely fled too, he'd watched Leop, Davey's horse, kick down two men in his escape, couldn't catch sight of Cleopatra anywhere and hoped she was unscathed, preferably back at camp. She knows her way, he sure.

"come on, amigo, hurry up!" Javier calls, a few paces in front of them as he rounds a corner, too busy looking behind him to notice the figure rushing at him. Javier gets tackled off his feet, Arthur drawing his gun quickly, pausing when footsteps echo behind him, too quick to be Davey's.

He turns around, and he can practically feel his eyes widening as he stares down the butt of a gun rushing towards his face. And that's all he sees before his world turns into stars and blissful darkness.

* * *

He's awoken with a slap across the face, Arthur blinks at the pain, squinting as his eyes fail to focus. Whoever slapped him had moved on, and another slapping sound echos beside him. Arthur turns his head slightly, catching sight of Javier tied against a post, shaking a gag away as he stares down at the man in front of him.

Davey is beside him, though hogtied and looking pale, most definitely needing medical attention. Arthur stays silent, pulling at the ropes binding him testingly, not surprised as they don't budge. He shakes his boot, feeling his switchblade rock against his ankle and he sends a thankful prayer for whoever is up there that they didn't search them.

Davey stirs in his bindings, sending a glare at their kidnapper. "Good to see you awake, boys," the man says, turning on his heel and crouching to Arthur's level. His face, although hidden in the shadow of his coat's collar, is still distinguishable, the famous burn across his neck, blossoming onto his cheek, the ugly scar across his face, from one ear to another, thick and undeniably intimidating.

And undeniably a trademark, "Julien," Arthur drawls coldly, and Julien sniffs with a smirk, "got bored of robbing women, decided you like men now?" Arthur teases and Julien scoffs humorlessly.

"I suppose you're Morgan? They said you have a big mouth on you," Julien says, kicking at Arthur's feet and Arthur kicks back, making Julien stumble back a step and laugh lightly, "And feisty," he adds, turning to Javier, "I see Dutch has... Degraded his recruitment requirements," he sneers down at Javier, who glares back at him.

"What's your plan, Julien?" Arthur asks, pulling himself closer to the pole holding him, Julien turns to him, squinting as he assesses Arthur closely.

"No plan so far, guess I could use you to lure Dutch in, or I can pull you into the law. You, at least, Morgan, have a nice thick bounty on your head." he says grabbing a fist full of Arthur's hair, pulling on it painfully as Arthur pulls at his restraints again," Two thousand, dead, two fifty alive. Do you know how much that can do for me and my boys? "

"Whole lot, I suppose," Arthur grits out, shaking his head as Julien let's go of him, "If they're so worried about money, why didn't they just send you in themselves? From what I hear, you've got a well rounded double-digit bounty, shit, when I get out of here? Better bet I'm bringing you in,"

"But you won't, dear Morgan," Julien smiles wickedly, "I'd like to see you try, though," he adds, sighing with a final spin on his heels, he smiles at Davey before taking a few steps back, "For now, friends, I have other business to attend to, don't you die now, tough guy," he laughs as he leaves, the door squealing loudly as he slams it shut. Arthur instantly puts his plan to work, tugging his arms upwards till he can pull himself to his knee, twisting backwards and pulling off his boot, feeling the knife clutter against his palm as he turns it and starts cutting, his wrist aching at the awkward angle but he doesn't stop, tugging while he cuts till the rope falls to his ankles.

He half crawls towards Javier, cuts him loose quickly and stands properly, looking down at Davey who has wormed himself closer, still looking sickly pale, contrasting against his dark hair that flops on his forehead.

"Reckon we should leave him tied up, less fuss," Arthur jokes, crouching to cut him loose and tugging the gag out of his mouth, "Come on, big guy," Arthur groans as he pulls Davey up, "Javier, find our guns," he orders and Javier nods as Arthur wraps an arm under Davey, carrying him with a tired huff.

"No one hears about this, y'hear?" Davey slurs and Arthur rolls his eyes, letting Davey relax before he starts moving.

"We should try to sneak out," Javier says and Arthur blows a breath, he knows he should agree, Davey's wounded, they're most definitely outnumbered, Arthur himself knows that the only thing holding him together is Adrenaline. But... _Eliza_ , Julien was right there, right in front of him.

 _For him_.

It's suicidal, he _knows_ it, and so with a final image of Isaac in his mind he nods, "Alright, come on,"

* * *

It's midnight, now. As Arthur pulls Davey down from the horse he had stolen. A nice looking Thoroughbred, she'd held well through the coldness and the weight. It was hard to find camp at first, but a quick look at his compass set them on track.

The men on guard helped them carry out Davey to his tent, Mac looked worried as he moved his brother. Dutch and Hosea greet them, their worry leaking as they greet them, Javier excusing himself to warm up as Arthur explains what had happened. He hadn't noticed the blood on his face until Dutch had insisted to clean it, the cold eating away his sensation, his nose was broken but that's about it, they returned unscathed if not a bit cold.

"I'm glad you're back safe," Hosea says quietly, "We should move, it's not safe anymore, they profiled John, a patrol almost found us and Julien will rage hell when he finds out you lot escaped, "

Dutch sigh, but inevitably agrees, "I'll send John and Mac out tomorrow, we should give the night for Davey to rest,"

"Probably should," Arthur says, scuffing his boot against the hardening snow underneath him "Well, I should go check on Isaac," Arthur sighs after a beat of silence, "I'll see you in the morning,"

"Of course, Arthur," Dutch nods once as Arthur leaves, "He was worried," he adds and Arthur drops his head but does not stop walking, pushing his tent open and shaking the snow off his shoulder.

Isaac is asleep, wrapped in Arthur's bear-pelt blanket, a beast he and Hosea had hunted a few months back almost five hundred pounds and angry. It was fun, dangerous, but fun. Isaac had liked the pelt too, smooth and warm and soft.

Taking his gloves off, Arthur sits gently beside him, running a hand over Isaac's hair. He stirs in his sleep, rolling to the side and slowly blinking awake, looking up at Arthur curiously, before his curiosity turns into happiness and he pulls himself to his knees, hugging Arthur around the neck.

"You're back!" he squeals as Arthur laughs gently, hugging Isaac back, "Uncle John said the bad men might have you," Isaac says and Arthur can't decide whether he means the lawmen or Julien's men, "I thought you weren't coming back,"

"I always come back, Isaac," Arthur's soothes, pulling him back into an embrace, "I'll always come back, for you," he promises and Isaac nods, "Now, come on, it's late, we should sleep,"

"You're the one that woke me up," Isaac says groggily, and Arthur rolls his eyes, pulling his coat off and settling under the bear blanket, "Goodnight, Pa,"

"Night, sweetheart,"


End file.
